Electrically-operated means for producing mechanical movements.



M. 'J. WOHL & H. HERTZBERG. ELEGTRIGALLY OPERATED MEANS FOR PRODUGING MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 20,1908.

952,778. Patented Mar.'22, 1910.

wi/lm/wm V CD WWWM W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. s

MAURICE J. WOHL, or NEW YORK, AND HARRY HERTZBERG, or BROOKLYN, NEW

YORK, ASSIGNOZRS TO ABBOT A. LOW,

or HORSESI-IOE, NEW YORK, MAURICE J.

WOHL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., AND HARBY HERTZBERG, OF BROOKLYN, 'NEW YORK,

TRUSTEES.

ELECTBICALLY-OPERATED MEANS'FOR PRODUCTNG MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 22, 1910.

Application filed. March 20, 1908. Serial N0. 422,274.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we,,.MAURIoE J. WOHL and HARRY HERTZEERG, citizens of the United States, and residents, respectively, of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, county and State of New York, and of the city of 'New York, borough of Brooklyn,

county of Kings, and State of New York,

' wires.

Broadly, thev invention consists in a thermal expansible wire, means for heating said wire electrically, a rotary driven member, and driving connection between said wire and said driven member whereby the linear movement of the wire is converted into unidirectional rotary movement.

While the invention may be presented in avariety of forms, the preferred embodiment is one in which there is a driven rotary member, an oscillatory member, driving connection'between said members adapted to convert the movement of said oscillatory, member into unidirectional rotary move-\ ment in the driven member, and an electric ally heated wire, or wires whose contraction and expansion actuate said oscillatory mem- One application of the broad features of this invention, namely, the utilization of a pair of thermal members extending in opposite directions from an oscillatory member which is arranged to be actuated thereby, is shown and claimed in our co-pending application for an electrical measuring instrument filed March 20, 1908 under Serial No. 422,275.

Referring to the drawing, which shows a semi-diagrammatic view of one embodiment of the invention, 1 indicates an electrical circuit, 2 .a source of current therein, and 3 any suitable base or support on which the several parts to be described may be mounted.

4 indicates the driven member, which may be in the. nature of a ratchet wheel, as shown.

- 5 is the oscillatory member, which may be of various constructions, and variously associated with the driven member 4, but here shown as a lever, pivoted intermediate its length, as at 6, and carrying at one end a spring held, pivoted pawl 7 which engages with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 4. Connected to said lever 5 are one or more expansible wires 8. These are preferably secured tangentially in couples to an insulating hub 9 on the lever 5, the members of each couple being connected to points on opposite sides of the hub. The outer ends of the members of each couple are connected to opposed spring supports 10 by tension adjustmg devices 11. While the heating and consequentexpansion of the wires may be effected in various ways, we prefer to accomplish the result by connecting them in series in the circuit 1. In order to prevent the expansion or contraction of either of the couples under changes in temperature, due to causes other than the heating effect of the,electric current, aifecting the lever 5 each pair of supports 10 is connected by a compensating wire 12, connected to the supports by tension adjusting devices 13. Each wire 12 is adapted to have the same total linear expansion per unit change in surrounding temperature as the corresponding couple 8; whereby mere changes in atmospheric temperature result only in the wires 12 changing the fiexure of the supports 10. Since the total change of flexure of each pair of supports 10 exactly equals the total change in length of the couple 8,'under such conditions, it is obvious that the outer ends of the wires 8 sufl'er displacement, but that their inner ends, connected to the hub 9, do not. An adjustable weight 14 moves lever 5 on expansion of wires 8.

Preferably, the circuit is made and broken automatically. While this may be accomplished in a variety of ways, the following is an operative construction: 15 is a stationary contact in the circuit, and 16 a contact in the form of 'a' lever of the first order. The rear. end of contact 16 is positioned to be engaged by spaced prbjections 17 on the adjacent end of the lever 5. A spring 18 engages with a V-shaped shoulder 19 on the lever-contact 16, in such fashion that, when the contact 16 passes dead center in either a: during this action.

seam s direction, the resiliency of the spring forces 1 ber, driving connection between said mem= it. rapidly to the limit of movement in that direction. StopsQO may be employed to limit the movement ofthe contact 16. When contact 16 is at the limit of movement in one direction, it rests upon contact 15; when at the limit of movement in the other direction, the circuit is broken.

The operation is as follows: Assuming the circuitto be closed, the current passes through the wires 8, which, being in the nature of resistance wires, are heated and expanded. This permits the weight 14: to tilt the lever 5, carrying the pawl 7 upward, inoperatively, over the teeth of the ratchet wheel 4. A pawl 21 may be provided for preventing retrograde movement of the wheel During this movement of the lever 5, the .up )er projection 17 has engaged the rear end 0 the pivoted contact 16, moving the outer end of the latter upward, until the dead center is passed, when the spring 18 quickly forces the contact 16 to the limit of movement, thus breaking the circuit. The wires 8 now cool and contract, turning the lever 5 in the opposite direction against the force of the weight. The results are two-fold: First, the pawl 7 rotates the wheel 4 in the direction of the arrow, and, second, the lower projection 17 engages with the contact 16, with the result that this contact is shifted to close the circuit again. The former operation is now repeated, and the cycle of operations con tinned as long as there is current. A circuit breaker 25 may be inserted in the circuit. for manually interrupting the current.

\Vhile we have described one embodiment of our invention with some particularity, it will be readily understood that the coiistruc tion may be greatly varied without departing froin the invention as defined in the following claims.

l Vhat we claim as new is:

1. A mechanical movement, comprising a driven rotary member, an oscillatory member, driving connection between said members adapted to convert the movement of said oscillatory member into unidirectional rotary movement in the driven member, a pair of thermal expansible wires extending in opposite directions under tension connected at their inner ends to said oscillatory member at points at opposite sides of the pivotal axis thereof, supports to which the outer ends of said wires are connected, and means for electrically heating said wires simultaneously.

2. A. mechanical movement, comprising a driven rotary member, an oscillatory members adapted to convert the movement of said oscillatory member into unidirectional rotary movement in the driven member, a pair of thermal expansible wires under tension connected at their-inner ends to said oscillatory member at points at opposite sides of the pivotal axis thereof, spring supports to which the outer ends of said wires are connected, means for electrically heating said wires, and a com ensating wire, substantially as described? stretched between said supports.

3. A mechanical movement, comprising a driven rotary member, an oscillatory member, means for driving said rotary member from said oscillatory member, a plurality of pairs of thermal expansible members operatively connected to said oscillatory mem ber, the thermal members of each pair extending in opposite directions, and means for simultaneously and intermittently heating said thermal members.

4:. A mechanical movement, comprising a driven rotary member, an oscillatory member, means for transmitting the movement of said oscillatory member to said rotary member, a plurality of thermal expansihle members arranged in pairs in which the direction of pull is in opposite directions, each pair being operatively connected to said oscillatorymcrnber and electrically connected to operate simultaneously to actuate said oscillatory member, and means for passing a heating current simultaneously and intermittently through said thermal members.

5. A mechanical movement, comprising a driven rotarv member, an oscillatory member, means for driving said rotary member from said oscillatory member, a plurality of pairs of thermal expansible mcmbeis under tension connected at their inner ends to said oscillatory member and at their outer ends to spring supports, spring supports positioned at the outer ends of said thermal members, a plurality of compensating thermal members each operating in conjunction with one of said pairs of thermal members and extending between said spring supports, and means for intermittently heating said thermal members.

Signed at New York, in the county of Kings and State of New York, this 18th day of March 1908.

MAURICE J. VVOl-lli. HARRY HERTZBERG.

Witnesses LEWIS W.- HAsKINs, GEO. WELLTNG GInmNos. 

